Pride Month – Gregory Maguire

by jeanineoloughlin

June is LGBT Pride Month so let’s take some time to appreciate authors of the community and their great works.

Gregory Maguire – 6/9/54 – Present

An American author born in Albany New York and best known for his novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West published in 1995. Maguire specializes in writing retellings of classic children’s stories including Wicked. Wicked tells the story of the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel. In Wicked the Witch becomes the protagonist by the name of Elphaba and how her life lead her down the road and to the events in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

In 2003 the novel was adapted into a Broadway musical which was nominated for ten Tony Awards & won three. Having both read the book and seen the musical I feel it’s good to mention that the book and the musical are not the same story. Maguire’s story is dark and gritty describing a difficult childhood that drove Elphaba to the actions described in the original story. The musical takes a very Disney/Broadway perspective and shows Elphaba as just a misunderstood young woman standing up for what she believes in. They are both great stories, but vastly different in theme, tone, and events. If you were expecting something light-hearted like the musical you will be shocked into finding something completely different.9